Luke Jenkins died at Bristol Royal children's hospital in April last year

The father of a seven-year-old boy who died a week after a heart operation has described his desperate attempts to get help for his child on what he says was an understaffed and disorganised hospital ward.

Luke Jenkins' father, Stephen, told an inquest into the boy's death that he could not persuade staff at Bristol Royal children's hospital that his son ought to be moved to intensive care, even though Luke was suffering severe bleeding, losing almost a pint of blood in one day alone.

Jenkins, from Cardiff, said he was initially told not to worry, but when staff eventually realised how ill Luke was they appeared disorganised and panicky.

In a statement read to the inquest, Jenkins said that after he and Luke's mother, Faye Valentine, decided their son's life support machine should be turned off, Valentine climbed into bed with Luke and hugged him as he died.

The staffing of ward 32 at the hospital, the children's cardiac ward, has been recognised as an issue. In October last year the Care Quality Commission found there were insufficient well-qualified nurses for the number of patients being treated and issued a warning notice requiring University Hospitals Bristol NHS foundation trust to take immediate action.

Luke Jenkins was born in November 2004 with a congenital heart defect. He underwent a series of operations, including a procedure that damaged his spinal cord and left him paralysed. Two years later he was able to walk again with the help of a frame.

In March 2012 he was admitted to the Bristol hospital for another heart operation. His father told the inquest that the operation, which took place on 30 March, lasted longer than he had expected but staff told him it had gone well.

Luke's parents claim they were told before the operation that he would spend three days on the paediatric intensive care unit afterwards. But he was quickly moved to ward 32.

Jenkins claimed staff made only sporadic checks on the boy and he had to keep prompting them to make sure Luke had enough pain relief. Luke began to bleed and had to be taken back into theatre to have his chest drained of blood. He was then sent back to ward 32.

At one point, Jenkins said, there was an hour's delay before a drip was organised. A nurse told him the delay was "disgusting", he claimed.

On 6 April, Luke suffered what was described at the inquest as a "catastrophic bleed". Jenkins said: "There didn't seem to be any organisation and everyone seemed to panic."

After an emergency operation, the family were told Luke's heart had stopped for 43 minutes and he had suffered brain damage. Luke's mother dabbed at her eyes as Jenkins' statement was read out describing Luke's last moments.

Andrew Parry, the lead congenital cardiac surgeon at the hospital, said he believed the procedure had gone well and there was no sign of bleeding at the end of it. He became emotional as he told the inquest he had done his best for Luke.

The inquest heard that Parry took a secondary role during the operation, assisting another surgeon. The hearing was told that Luke's parents had chosen Bristol for the operation because they believed Parry himself would be in charge of the operation.

Parry said he had been there throughout the operation but another surgeon had carried it out. Parry said this was because he had been due to go on holiday the next day, so it was better practice for a doctor who was going to be around to carry out the procedure.

He said he could not remember telling Luke's parents that he would be carrying out the operation personally, or that Luke would be in intensive care for three days. He apologised for misleading them and said he had not meant to.

Parry said he did not know why Luke had started bleeding days after the operation, adding that this was "extremely rare". Parry also told the inquest he did not have concerns about ward 32 at the time.

In a report published last year, an investigative team at the trust said errors had been made. But before the inquest another report was produced that appeared to row back from that, to the frustration of the boy's parents.

The family is represented by Laurence Vick, a lawyer who acted for the families at the public inquiry into the Bristol children's heart scandal. Deaths in the 1990s at the Bristol Royal Infirmary were blamed on surgeons not having sufficient skills.

"This has been tremendously trying for Luke's parents," said Vick. "They have waited patiently for this inquest in the hope that it will at last get to the bottom of what happened to their son."

The inquest at Flax Bourton, near Bristol, is scheduled to last for 11 days.